ilinda

It is always so enticing to use one of those browsers, but how do we really know it's not just another spy tool? I really WANT to use something more sequre, but am never sure.

Here's something that has just begun in the past few days: every single "secure" site now no longer has the green padlock indicating it's secure. Instead the padlock is gray/black and actually looks quite suspicious. I keep wondering--is it my Firefox browser? Is it some virus someone hacked into my computer? Is it the "new secure"?

A search about the change from green to other colors, ends up being complicated and there's no one short answer.

Does anyone else notice that they no longer see a green padlock indicating a secure site?

Am seeing a closed gray padlock right now as I type on TH. There's also the "s" after "http," so secure sites can still be designated, but yes, that doesn't mean they can't be entered by someone with the right tools (i.e. a giant black cube)...

The dark web is a part of the internet that isn't indexed by search engines. You've no doubt heard talk of the “dark web” as a hotbed of criminal activity — and it is. Researchers Daniel Moore and Thomas Rid of King's College in London classified the contents of 2,723 live dark web sites over a five-week period in 2015 and found that 57% host illicit material.

A 2019 study, Into the Web of Profit, conducted by Dr. Michael McGuires at the University of Surrey, shows that things have become worse. The number of dark web listings that could harm an enterprise has risen by 20% since 2016. Of all listings (excluding those selling drugs), 60% could potentially harm enterprises.

You can buy credit card numbers, all manner of drugs, guns, counterfeit money, stolen subscription credentials, hacked Netflix accounts and software that helps you break into other people’s computers. Buy login credentials to a $50,000 Bank of America account for $500. Get $3,000 in counterfeit $20 bills for $600. Buy seven prepaid debit cards, each with a $2,500 balance, for $500 (express shipping included). A “lifetime” Netflix premium account goes for $6. You can hire hackers to attack computers for you. You can buy usernames and passwords.

But not everything is illegal, the dark web also has a legitimate side. For example, you can join a chess club or BlackBook, a social network described as the “the Facebook of Tor.”

Dark web browser

All this activity, this vision of a bustling marketplace, might make you think that navigating the dark web is easy. It isn’t. The place is as messy and chaotic as you would expect when everyone is anonymous, and a substantial minority are out to scam others.

Accessing the dark web requires the use of an anonymizing browser called Tor. The Tor browser routes your web page requests through a series of proxy servers operated by thousands of volunteers around the globe, rendering your IP address unidentifiable and untraceable. Tor works like magic, but the result is an experience that’s like the dark web itself: unpredictable, unreliable and maddeningly slow.

Dark web search engine

Dark web search engines exist, but even the best are challenged to keep up with the constantly shifting landscape. The experience is reminiscent of searching the web in the late 1990s. Even one of the best search engines, called Grams, returns results that are repetitive and often irrelevant to the query.

The anonymous nature of the Tor network also makes it especially vulnerable to distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS), said Patrick Tiquet, Director of Security & Architecture at Keeper Security, and the company’s resident expert on the topic. “Sites are constantly changing addresses to avoid DDoS, which makes for a very dynamic environment,” he said. As a result, “The quality of search varies widely, and a lot of material is outdated.”

Staying on top of the hacker underground

Keeper’s Patrick Tiquet checks in regularly because it’s important for him to be on top of what’s happening in the hacker underground. “I use the dark web for situational awareness, threat analysis and keeping an eye on what’s going on,” he said will. “I want to know what information is available and have an external lens into the digital assets that are being monetized – this gives us insight on what hackers are targeting.”

What is the dark web? How safe is it and how to access it? Your questions answered:

The dark web sounds foreboding. Why else would the police in Brazil, Germany, and the United States need to raid dark web eshops like the the “Wall Street Market” (WSM), charging the operators with a long grocery list of crimes ranging stolen data, drugs, and malware? These events do occur on the dark web, but they are just part of the story.

The internet is a huge and sometimes disorganized place, almost like a huge flea market or bazaar. With billions of sites and addresses, it is amazing that we can search – and find – anything.

There are three basic levels within this complex thing we call the World Wide Web – open, deep, and dark. Each have their place – and their drawbacks.

Going deeper into the web

The term "Deep Web" doesn’t mean anything nefarious, it simply refers to the unindexed web databases and other content that search engines can't crawl through and catalog – things like registration-required web forums or even your Gmail account. It includes the information about you that data brokers like LocalBlox might be storing in a public – but unlisted – Amazon server.

Just think of the deep web as an archive, containing an unsorted pile of websites and resources which are largely inaccessible. Deep sites include company intranets and governmental websites (i.e. the website of the European Union) where you can search for special topics or forms.

On such pages, you can use their own internal search function not a search engine like Bing or Yahoo or another external search engines. The deep web also includes most academic content handled directly by universities. Just think of this like searching for a library book using the facilities’ own index files – you might have to be in the library to search there. This deep web is estimated to make up about 95 percent of the entire web.

Step off into the Dark Web

The dark web – despite the media attention – is a small part of the deep web which is only accessible through a special TOR network. Tor stands for: The Onion Router” a reference to how it works; sending encrypted traffic through layers of relays around the globe as it hides content, the sender, and their location. Not only is it more secure, it also is more private as it effectively shuts out online trackers. While it is not flawless in protecting user privacy, it works well enough to give users much more privacy in where they go, the content accessed, and concealing their own identity. The multiple relays helps keep some distance and anonymity between the person visiting the website, the website itself, and any entity trying to eavesdrop on the communication between the two.

Tor is both a type of connection – with the extended relays – and a browser. There are other variants out there including I2P, GNU.net and Freenet. With your device running a TOR browser, you can go to TOR specific sites – with an .onion suffix -- or also visit the usual sites on the open web.

Yes, there are a number of TOR only sites for illicit drugs or materials. It allows surfers to stay anonymous and go to “members only” forums where they can use untraceable cryptocurrencies for their purchases. But, that’s not all of it. There are also popular services are offering their services here at facebookcorewwwi.onion and the German mail provider Mailbox.org is offering its services as well.

ilinda

That does seem a bit much, and a drain on resources of personnel to go investigate the source, intensity, quality, and duration of the cough! There are so many different types of cough, that this does border on the ridiculous.

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